1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to housings for tool implements such as blades which can also accept the tool for mounting the implement on the tool, and, in one embodiment thereof, to a blade arming cartridge for housing a blade and accepting a handle for mounting the blade on the handle.
2. Related Art
With advancements in technology, many tools and instruments are reusable whereby a handle or other sturdy element is used numerous times in conjunction with a disposable or limited-life implement such as a blade or other working element. For example, scalpels often have a sturdy handle and a blade portion removably mounted on the handle for use during a given procedure. After the blade has been used, the blade is removed and discarded, after which the handle is sterilized and made ready for further use by mounting a new blade. In many instances, new blades are packaged in individual sterile packages formed by two sheets of paper or aluminum foil sealing the blade between them, much like finger bandages are packed. When the blade is to be mounted on the its handle, one paper or aluminum foil layer is folded back to expose the rearward or mounting portion of the blade. The package is then grasped so as to press the sides of the blade between the thumb and forefinger while the handle is inserted into the opening of the blade. While the blade should be held so that the cutting edge points away from the user, the potential for injury still exists. Slipping of the blade within the paper or aluminum foil, in conjunction with the force required to properly install the blade on the handle, may push the blade through the cover and cause injury. Nothing prevents the blade from moving relative to its envelope and nothing prevents the blade from puncturing the cover. Therefore, individuals are subject to injury while installing the blade on the handle.
Storage of new scalpel blades in paper or aluminum foil packages presents a significant possibility of injury. Individual scalpel packages can fall out of the box in which they are stored and may fall under foot or onto a countertop unnoticed. Ordinary movement around a laboratory or operating room may result in inadvertent cuts or puncture wounds through the cover. Therefore, normal storage of conventional replacement scalpel blades presents a possibility of injury.
Similar problems may arise with respect to other disposable implements to be mounted on tools. The implement may not be adequately housed or protected during normal storage and may not hold the implement sufficiently stable while the implement is being mounted on its handle or other implement.
There is a need, therefore, for a cartridge or implement housing for safely and reliably containing and protecting the implement, such as a scalpel blade. There is also a need for a cartridge which can safely and reliably accept the mounting portion of the handle or other tool portion for mounting the blade or implement on the tool.
It is an object, therefore, of the present invention to provide a cartridge or other housing for an implement such as a scalpel blade for holding and protecting the implement while at the same time minimizing the possibility that the blade may puncture the housing during normal storage or while the blade is being mounted on the tool.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a blade cartridge which easily accepts the blade mounting portion of the scalpel handle to mount the blade on the handle while minimizing the possibility that the blade may puncture or pass through the sides of the cartridge.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a cartridge which holds the blade substantially stationary in all three mutually perpendicular directions, so that the blade cannot move forward or backward, sideways or up and down within the housing during normal storage.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a cartridge which is easy to assemble with the blade inside.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a scalpel blade cartridge which is rigid for protecting the blade and for preventing puncture of the walls of the cartridge.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a blade cartridge whereby the cartridge is stackable with similar cartridges containing the same or other blades for storage and for easy access for mounting the blade on a handle.
These and other objects are provided according to the present invention to be described more fully below.